The impact of flood and poaching on the sustainability of one-horned rhino in Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India

Abstract

Located in Golaghat district of Assam between the Brahmaputra on the north and Karbi hills on the south, Kaziranga National Park covers an area of 830 sq. km. This park famous for one- horned rhinoceros and habitat for a number of threatened species and migratory birds is facing twin major problems of flood and poaching every year which results to heavy loss of wildlife. Flood in Assam have been a common problem since early times. The plains of Assam have been inundated by the floods of the Brahmaputra and the Barak river systems in different periods. Heavy monsoonal rains and devastating landslides coupled with easy erodibility of rocks, steep slopes and high seismicity constitute the major natural causes of floods in Assam. The human induced factors such as deforestation in the hilly catchments of the Brahmaputra and the Barak are the important causes of flooding in the plains. Poachers kill the rhino for the horn which is in great demand in South- East Asia and Far East for medicinal value. Thus, this paper makes a humble attempt to study the implications of flood and poaching on the sustainability of the park.

References

A Brief Note on Kaziranga National Park (2010)., World Heritage Site by The Official Support Committee., Environment and Forest Department, Govt. of Assam. http://www.assamforest.in (accessed in September 16, 2017).